Chapter Seven: The Past Must Be Paid For

"So he actually told you how he got the scar?"

Brooke watched Cooper as he flipped chairs down from on top of the tables. She was standing behind the counter wiping it down and had spent the last few minutes telling him about last nights events, including the conversation that morning. He'd listened and waited to answer, which she thanked him for. She didn't like being interrupted.

"Well, no, but I assume he will at some point down the line, if he trusts me enough."

"Trust isn't the easiest thing in the world to earn, especially for James." Cooper leaned on the back of a chair, brushing a strand of his fringe back into place. "He isn't really the type to trust people outside of his friends. He probably feels like if he trusts anyone besides Willa, Daniel and Sam, they'll use information about him against him. He's kinda paranoid, actually. He never comes into the club anymore because he's terrified April is going to stab him."

"And I will if he ever does," April called from the kitchen. Cooper snickered.

"Why doesn't April like him?" Brooke asked, placing a tray of freshly baked muffins in the display rack. Cooper quirked an eyebrow at her and tilted his head.

"Hasn't she told you?"

"Not her problem, Coop!"

Snickering again, Cooper ran a set of fingers through his hair and thought for a second. He could see April's bustling form through the kitchen window, the twin scars lining her face. Brooke had only been working for a few days now and April already treated her like a sister. By that, though, it meant she was keeping certain things from her, her heritage as a witch being one of them. Paganism was a widely accepted religion in the modern era, but her brand of witchcraft dealt with a little bit more than healing stones and chanting to gods. April and her twin sisters shared abilities that allowed them to vanquish demons and protect the innocent, but they had chosen to keep it secret. It allowed them to do what they did and not cause an uproar. It was so secret in fact that Brooke was oblivious to the fact her direct superior at the cafe was a guardian angel, the one assigned to protect the Calaway Witches.

Cooper took a breath and made a decision, one he would probably regret later.

"You know about Lucy, but not her mother. Maya Calavera was James' girlfriend, but she was also April's friend. The kind of friend you'd go to the ends of the Earth for," he said, choosing his words very carefully.

Brooke leaned her elbows against the counter, listening intently to what Cooper had to say. How would James react if he knew Cooper was talking about his little girl and her mother?

"Maya... well, she passed away the same day Lucy did. James blames himself for it." The silver-haired man smiled, the kind of smile that was hidden behind years of abuse and pain. Brooke had seen the same smile on James' face. The difference between the two was that Cooper's smile was coming out from behind its wall; James' was retreating further behind it. One of the two men had forgiven himself for the things he'd done, the other hadn't and it wasn't hard to tell which one.

The sound of metal slamming against marble caught Brooke's attention as she turned to face April. The older woman had a scowl on her face.

"James can blame himself all he wants for Mimi's death. Hell, he can even say he forgives himself for what he did, but I will always be around to remind him that he is a piece of shit that deserves to burn in the bottom layers of Hell."

"Violence, fraud and treachery," Brooke blurted before she could stop herself. April raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"For someone who didn't know what fajitas were yesterday, you sure do know your literature."

Brooke blinked. "What?"

"Violence, fraud and treachery are the last three layers in Hell, according to Dante's Inferno."

The trio turned to face the main entrance to the cafe where James was standing, leaning against the wall with a cocky smirk on his face. Brooke felt herself beaming at him as the light of the rising sun encircled his dark locks like a halo. Scars and all, he looked beautiful to her and she was always happy to see him, despite the fact he'd only dropped her off an hour beforehand.

April, on the other hand, was not happy to see him. In fact, her face had gone from annoyed to pissed off in a matter of seconds.

"Get out of here, Landau, or I'll call the police."

James' smirk grew. "Not your usual threat. What happened to wanting to flay me alive?

Brooke blanched at the mere thought of his skin being peeled from his body but April just smirked in return.

"Oh, don't worry, I still want to. As if the police could stop me from ripping you apart if I wanted to."

"I'm gonna stop ya before this turns into the world's weirdest dick measuring contest," Cooper piped up, looking between his sister and James, "why are you here, James?"

"Brooke forgot her house keys." To emphasize his point, he raised a hand. True to his word, Brooke's fluffy, red ball key-chain was hanging from his middle finger, her key to the apartment hanging from it, as well as the key to her motorcycle and a third she didn't recognize. She couldn't help but smile at him. He was so thoughtful when he wanted to be.

James smirked and threw the keys to the blonde behind the counter, grinning as she fumbled for them. The inside of the cafe wasn't small, but the door sat to the side of the front counter, meaning he had a clear shot of his housemate who stood only few feet away. He turned his attention back to April and grinned.

"You won't have to worry about me for a while. I have a few things I need to take care of in San Francisco so I'll be out of town for a few days."

"Why do you think I give a shit?"

"To keep Blondie-locks safe."

With that, James winked to Brooke and sauntered out of the doorway and back into the busy streets of downtown Los Angeles.

The cafe was quiet for a few minutes. There was a sense of tension in the air that felt raw and ridged. Cooper looked between the two women behind the counter. Brooke had a dopey grin on her face, clearly in the thralls of a major crush. April on the other hand looked as if she was ready to kill. She'd been in a wonderful mood this morning until James had been brought up in conversation wherein her mood had started to dissipate. The storm clouds had gathered behind her and she was ready to unleash her full fury on the hapless information broker.

Thankfully, a welcome reprieve arrived soon after to relieve the tension. He stepped into the cafe, removing his sunglasses and leather jacket, to find silence spreading faster than the plague. He stopped mid-step in the doorway, eyes glancing between Cooper and April.

"I take it the three of you had a visitor this morning?" he said, sitting at one of the tables. April glanced over at him and smiled.

"Unwelcome visitors are one of the few cons when it comes to running a business in Hollywood, Dad," she said, stepping out from behind the counter as she spoke. She leaned down to kiss her father on the cheek. He grinned up at her, eyes glancing at Brooke.

The blonde had broken free of her thrall and was wearing a puzzled expression, her head tilted curiously in the direction of the newcomer. Mark merely smiled at her.

As April stepped away and back into the kitchen, Mark got a good look at the new girl. Blonde, tanned skin, deep red lips and shocking green eyes. She was very pretty, even dressed in her uniform. She reminded him of someone. He couldn't place who though, so chose to ignore it.

"Parent," Cooper said, waving his hand in front of Mark's face. The older man looked up at his son. "This is Brooke. She's replacing Melody while she's on maternity leave."

Mark peered at the girl again. Her face had begun to turn a light shade of pink as she stood with her eyes cast down, arms behind her back. His eyebrow rose. She was shy all of a sudden. Why could that be?

"It's nice to meet you, Mister Calaway," she piped up, her voice barely above a squeak. Mark stared at her.

"There's no need to be shy around me, Brooke," he said, resting against the back of his seat. She shook her head.

"Sorry, sir; I get nervous around new people." She nodded once and walked off into the storage room, the door slamming shut behind her.

Mark blinked and looked over at Cooper who was flipping chairs down from the tables.

"What was all that about?"

A shrug was all he got in return.

~X~

Brooke could feel the coolness of the refrigerator doors against her back as she slid to the ground, holding back the tears that were welling in her eyes. She wasn't shy, no, that wasn't the reason she'd behaved so strangely in front of Mark Calaway. Her eyes had flashed with recognition as soon as he'd stepped through the door. She'd been kidding herself to think she could hide in a busy city forever. She'd barely been in Los Angeles for a month and would now have to hide again, possibly move to a different city if she needed to. She refused to go home.

Home for her wasn't spending time in the Garden of Fire, or curled up in front of the blazing fire in her suite. Home wasn't at the beck and call of Hades or Persephone, and certainly not on bended knee in front of Lady Iremia. Home would never be the chains that bound her to eternity, holding her prisoner in her own world. It would never be Caina.

Home for her meant riding her motorcycle through the streets of Los Angeles. It meant going to Hell Mouth Pool Hall and playing the silly game with Sam. It meant getting to know Willa and Daniel more and more with every passing moment. It meant working at the cafe in the mornings and the restaurant at night. It meant helping Cooper pour drinks and serve customers at the nightclub. It meant laughing at the sarcasm and friendly banter between Xander and Cooper, and watching the love blossom between Xander and April.

Home meant returning to the apartment in the early hours of the morning to find James with his feet resting on the coffee table while he cursed at whatever video game he happened to be playing at the time. It meant watching James try and juggle espresso cups and drop every single one of them, her lungs filling with the laughter to silence even the most cynical demon lord. It meant pancakes with maple syrup and strawberries. Home was freedom to be who she was, not what she was.

When she was in Santa Monica, she could be Brooklyn Paris Static, waitress and bartender, not Princess Brookai Persephone Calaway, crown Princess of Caina and ruler of Ignis Infernalis. She was where she needed to be to become whoever she was meant to be.

The tears she'd been holding back slipped from her cheeks as she was consumed by a feeling of pity. She pitied herself. Her human side was shining through, loud and clear, and she curled her legs closer to her, her head resting on her knees, her mind overwhelmed with feelings of despair and longing. If she was dragged back to Caina, kicking and screaming, she'd never be allowed to return. She would have to say goodbye to her human life, her new friends... to James.

Thinking about leaving James behind brought about a new feeling that made the lump in her throat build. Regret. If she returned to Caina, she wouldn't be around to help him overcome his grief. It was true that Sam, Willa and Daniel were around to help James, but they seemed aloof to his feelings. The only one who really seemed to care was Sam, but he allowed James to fall into the land of despair and grief just as much as the other two did. Brooke was the only one who seemed to want James to forgive himself, not live in the past. The path to redemption was a rocky one, and James had taken his first tentative step towards it. If Brooke left, he'd have no one to help him up when he fell. He needed her as much as she needed him.

James had been the first friend she'd ever made in Los Angeles. It was true that she was starting to develop more intense feelings for him, but if she returned to the Underworld, she wouldn't have the chance to explore those feelings further, or see if they were reciprocated. James seemed much happier when she was around. His face seemed to light up when she walked into the room and she often caught him glancing at her from the side before looking away, signature smirk in place.

Brooke loved the way his lips would curl when he smiled. She loved the mischievous glint in his eye when he was laughing about something with his friends. She also loved his vulnerable moments, those moments of weakness when his pain would seep through. At night, he screamed and cursed in his sleep, but the minute his fingers grazed hers, his demons would grow silent, probably out of confusion. Brooke felt like she needed to be there with him to help him win the fight against his past. He could scream and cry when she was around, reaching the peak of insanity without judgment. She would sit and watch as he exploded, and still be watching him when the dust cleared. For the three or so weeks that she'd known him, she'd figured out for herself that she didn't want to be in the world without him.

If she left him now, she'd never live it down. But the man who'd entered the cafe was here to take her home. She'd known from the minute she saw him and learned who he was.

Lady Iremia's guardian.